The last part of our journey took us from the very southern tip of New Zealand up to Christchurch, and a lot of places in between.
In Invercargill, we got a tip to not ignore the town of Bluff, located as far south as possible in NZ. So, we headed down there and realized that none of us had ever been so far down, nor so far away from home as there. Thus, we tried to stretch that as far as possible without getting wet.
Check out those distances will ya!
As we'd had enough Bluffing, we made a full turn and started climbing north through the town of Gore where we had coffee. This region is one of the main agricultural areas of NZ, so we saw a sheep and his few million friends along the way. If you want to see newborn sheep, spring is the time to go.
Between Alexandra and Clyde we followed one of the many rivers that form between the mountain ranges. Some 70 percent of the electricity in the country is generated by hydroelectric power, which means there are lots of dams and small power plants in these regions.
Passing Cromwell and Queenstown far on the east side, a vast near 100km long road stretched ahead with nothing but dry plains and desert like scenery all the way up to Omarama.
Omarama, a tiny town with some 300 people, still houses two gas stations, a supermarket accompanied by a few hotels and motels, a church and a pub. We stayed here for the nightas no larger settlements were anywhere in the distance. Having a look around the village made us find the local police station, pub, welcome sign and cat. We had a look inside the horniest pub in NZ over a glass of wine before heading to bed.
Next day the sky way almost cloudless, perfect for us as we approached the Southern Alps from the eastern direction. We spotted Mount Cook early on, but weren't completely sure first whether it was it or not as it appeared to be too close. Last time with Cristina clouds had made us miss the silhouette by a fraction, but as we closed in now it became clear as crystal. It had a small cloud stuck to the top.
In the village of Mount Cook we paid a visit to the visitor centre and decided after coffee to have a go at a walk closer to the mountain. It was well worth the one hour walk in each direction, the scenery was breathtaking and it was a really warm day as well!
So warm in fact, that small hiking breaks were necessary.
The scenery at the end made the walk well worth it, I've never quite seen anything like it.
On the road again, we went on eastwards toward Christchurch, and once again I experienced the beautiful scenery around the pristine, deep green-blue glacier lakes and the Chruch and sheepdog statue by Lake Tekapo. It almost felt like summer this time!
Arriving in Christchurch the next day, that being the last day before our flight back to Melbourne, gave me an opportunity to have a better look at the city. As I commented earlier on in another post, the serious earthquake that had rocked the city a month before raised my interest a few notches higher. I'd never been in a earthquake aftermath like this before! First, though, we had to eat, and the meals were crazy big for lunch.
The Christchurch church had not suffered much damage thanks to a renovation some years ago where the structure was improved. We had a look inside.
Signs of damage were evident in many other places though: Roads were closed due to sewer repairs, tram tracks needed replacing and in some places whole houses had collapsed. I'm not all sure whether that pile of rubbish near the red brick building is a cause of the quake though, but it would seen plausible to think so.
We also had a peek into the Arts district and several workshops selling everything from wood and clothing to wine and food.
Heading for the gardens that the city is famous for, we stumbled upon some talking benches.
The gardens are certainly worth a visit, especially in springtime when everything from trees to flowers is blossoming. It's a huge park, we walked there for an hour and only made a pretty small loop inside it.
Our hotel was one of the highest buildings in the city, and our room had a nice view over part of the centre. Across the road was a building with a very interesting ground floor.
Our last dinner before flying back the next day was just around the corner from our hotel. That last image of the alps was actually taken by mom, so hey mom, your snap made it to my blog!
So, that's part of what I experienced in New Zealand the second time around. As I've been saying since the first time I sat my foot on the islands, they're just plain amazing. The scenery and nature actually lives up to all the hype about the country you might have come across. As of now I'm actually struggling to describe it any better, so just take my word for it that whoever you are, you will love it if you visit some day. I'm certainly up for a third go if anyone's interested, but I guess for now it's time for me to look elsewhere as well.
Cheers for reading!
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